The importance of developing digital competence during initial teacher education in ELT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30827/dreh.22.2024.29690Abstract
In the current Portuguese educational context, official policy expects teachers to be proficient in the use of digital technologies. However, the decision to provide digital competence training to trainee teachers is left up to the Higher Education Institutions. As a result, there is a possibility that future teachers will enter the profession without having acquired the essential digital competences. Recognising the need to improve the digital competence of trainee teachers, a Digital Competence module was developed specifically for prospective teachers of English as a Foreign Language as part of the Masters in Teaching at the University of Coimbra, based on the DigCompEdu theoretical framework. Subsequently, a cross-sectional qualitative study was carried out to assess trainee teachers' perceptions of their digital competence. The results showed that this new curricular unit not only familiarised future teachers with unfamiliar tools and resources, but also enabled them to, critically and creatively, integrate these tools into their pedagogical practices. In summary, the study points to the need for a digital agenda dedicated to initial teacher training programmes.
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